Sins Of St. Steven

I hope I am among the first of many to congratulate the screen directors for not nominating Steven Spielberg for an Oscar.

From the absurd opening scene of the "pickaninnies" dancing among the daisies, to the ridiculous costumes of the Africans super-imposed on Celie's idyllic turf, the picture is a distortion of reality, romance, sex, black men (didn't do much for most of the black women, either)--name it, Spielberg twisted it to meet his Saturday-matinee version of what a movie should be.

Why the picture itself was nominated as one of the best is also beyond my comprehension, but then so was the choice of the book for a Pulitzer and President Reagan's popularity. . . .

MINNIE SELVIN CRUTCHER

Los Angeles

A commentary criticizing statements made by three actresses in "The Color Purple" is on Page 41.